Abstract John Thomas ("Tom") Arrington grew up in Fayette County, West Virginia. While attending high school he met his future wife, Sandra Ray Beck. The couple soon dated and then in 1960 married. Tom Arrington went on to graduate with a chemistry degree from West Virginia University. In 1967, the Arrington family moved to Beaumont, Texas, where Tom assumed a position as chemist with the Goodyear Chemical Plant and then later with the Valspar Paint Plant. The family papers consist of photographs,...

Abstract Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) originated in 1883 with Beaumont High School. By 1948, the district had absorbed French High School and established a high school for black students, Charlton-Pollard High School. In 1983, the original Beaumont ISD board voted to dissolve the district and officially merged with South Park ISD in 1984, forming the current Beaumont Independent School District. This collection is an artificial collection of community materials that consists of...

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The Beaumont Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) dates back to 1911 and for several decades it provided enrichment and entertainment activities for women of all ages in the Beaumont area.

Abstract The Brooks Family Papers consists of four family members. Henry C. Brooks, Dorothy G. Brooks, and their two daughters, Rebecca A. Brooks and Nancy B. Neild. Mr. Brooks for many years managed the Fashion department store in Beaumont. His wife helped to raise their two daughters, Nancy and Rebecca. Nancy has long been active in several civic organizations in Beaumont including the Junior League and the the Spindletop Chairty Horse Show. Her sister, Rebecca, was a professional model and actress...

Abstract The Delta Kappa Gamma Society is a professional society for women educators, founded on May 11, 1929 at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. The mission of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society is "to promote professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education." Materials consist of organizational records, administrative records, newsletters, yearbooks, rosters, programs, meetings, correspondence, photographs, by-laws, financial records, history, and programs related...

Abstract Frank Cleveland Weber (1882-1965) was born in Beaumont, Texas, where he lived for the majority of his life. As a teen, young Frank Weber took a job at J.J. Nathan's dry goods store. He worked with J.J. Nathan for twenty-seven years, becoming manager and growing the business into the largest store in Beaumont. The store's successs brought Frank Weber into the "entrepenuerial class" of Beaumont, which prospered even more after the Spindeltop oil discovery of 1901. This collection consists of...

Abstract Gordon F. Baxter was born on December 25, 1923, in Port Arthur, Texas. He resided in Beaumont from 1959 until his death on June 11, 2005. During his professional career he was a writer, radio broadcaster, and a airplane pilot. He was well-known for his independent spirit and proved to be a colorful figure in his profession. These papers include personal papers and correspondence, artifacts, scrapbooks, publications, slides, and photographic negatives related to his personal life and...

Abstract Judge J.D. Campbell was born in Chappell Hill, Texas, during the Civil War. During his time in Beaumont he worked as an appointed corporation court judge, with a private firm, as the elected city attorney, and as the justice of the 60th District Court. This collection is comprised largely of Judge J. D. Campbell’s business and personal papers and other items related to the activities of him and his family. These take the form of artifacts, correspondence, manuscripts, newspapers and...

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This collection of materials belonged to Jeannette Doiron, Club Historian for the Woman's Club of Beaumont. Materials include club yearbooks from 1959 to 2015, budgets, newsletters, periodicals, brochures, events, programs, newspaper clippings, awards, meetings, and other administrative materials.

Abstract The Jefferson Amusement Company was founded in 1917 by Sol Gordon and Joe Clemmons. The Company's headquarters was located in Beaumont where some of the most elegant movie theaters were located including the famous Jefferson Theater which opened in 1927. This collection focuses on the maintenance of the Beaumont theaters, especially the Liberty and Jefferson theaters, film release schedules, contracts and financial correspondence, income ledgers, booking schedules, construction blue prints...

Abstract The Jefferson Theatre was designed by architect Emile Weil in 1927, orignially for the Jefferson Amusement Company. The theatre closed in 1972, but reopened after an extensive restoration in 2003. This collection consists of materials originally collected by the Jefferson Theatre Preservation Society. The majority of the collection is comprised of deeds, oil leases, financial records, and correspondence related to the estates of Lena Mayer and Sol E. Gordon and their relatives. The...

Abstract Juanita Hughes Phelps (1918-2005) became an active resident of Beaumont for forty-seven years. She served as head of the Artist Series, president of the Magnolia District and State Federation of Woman's Clubs, and was involved with the Beaumont Opera and Beaumont Woman's Club. The collection largely consists of materials related to the organizations Juanita H. Phelps was involved with. Programs, reports, clippings, correspondence, events, rosters, scrapbooks, and other administrative records...

Abstract Betty Lamont Maloney Leaf was born in 1922 in St. Augustine, Florida. She came to serve both as president of the Magnolia Garden Club of Beaumont and then as director of the Garden Club of America. She also received the Medal of Merit from the Garden Club of America. This collection consists primarily of publications, certificates, and awards from the Garden Club of America and the many other Beaumont community organizations Betty Leaf was involved with. It also features photographs and...

Abstract Marylyn Duhon Munsterman (1923-2016) was born in Beaumont, Texas in 1923 and remained a lifelong resident. Marylyn was passionate about music, theatre, and the arts, teaching drama at Forest Park High School and active as both a performer and a director in numerous local theatrical productions. The bulk of this collection consists of programs for various theatrical productions in southeast Texas and beyond. Organizations represented include Beaumont Community Players, Beaumont Opera, Actors...

Abstract Mayor Becky (Benoit) Ames served as Mayor of Beaumont from 2007 to 2021. She was the longest-running mayor of the city, serving for 14 years across 7 terms. In total, she spent 27 years on City Council. Mayor Ames recieved many awards and recognition from organizations both locally and nationally. This collection consists of memorabilia, correspondence, artifacts, photographs, plaques, awards, and framed items from Mayor Becky Ames' office. The materials represent the many organizations and...

Abstract Morris Cloninger graduated from the University of Texas in Austin and taught English at both Conroe and South Park High Schools. Concetta (nee Mazzagatti) Cloninger became interested in theatre while a student at South Park High School and then attended Lamar Junior College, where she studied under Irene Arnett. She later won a scholarship and did post graduate work at the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts in Pasadena, California. Upon leaving California, Concetta took the stage...

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The Neches River Festival was conceived on May 3, 1947, when Mr. Caldwell McFaddin, President of Beaumont's Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Clarence DeBush, Executive Vice President and Secretary, discussed plans for the betterment of Beaumont and the Chamber of Commerce. This collection contains five boxes of Neches River Festival Programs and related materials in chronological order in the conclusive years 1949 to the present.

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This collection consists of materials related to the shared interest of Ruth and Rex Goode in music and the arts and their involvement in the Beaumont community. Student piano recital programs, musical performances, and publications of music and arts organizations in the Beaumont region make up the bulk of the collection.

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Roy H. Towell, Jr. (1915-1996) was a local businessman in Beaumont, Texas. As an avid photographer, he took numerous photographs of parades, social events, and other topics of interest to him that occurred both in Beaumont and Houston. This collection consists of slides, photographs, and textual material that relate to his business and photography interest in the community in which he was a long-time resident.

Abstract Ruth Garnett McGinley (1919-2014) was born in Johnson County, Kansas in 1919 and lived in Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri until she moved to Beaumont with her husband Robert J. McGinley in 1957. Ruth was active in many Beaumont community organizations including the Trinity United Methodist Church and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also involved with the Junior League of Beaumont, American Association of University Women, Tyrrell Public Library Commission, and the Beaumont...

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The South Park Heritage Museum Records is a composite collection of historical material compiled by the South Park community in Beaumont that documents its school district's heritage. The collection includes a vareity of materials including yearbooks, scrapbooks, programs, photographs, newsletters, reunion programs, film, and other memorabilia that encompasses the history of the school district, with an emphasis on the history of South Park High School.

Abstract The Beaumont Symphony Society was formed in 1950. After several of its members had visited symphony orchestras in Houston and Dallas, the Society decided to sponsor numerous guest appearances of out-of-town symphonies to perform in Beaumont. Out of this endeavor a Beaumont Symphony Orchestra was created in 1953. A Beaumont Women's Symphony League was soon formed in 1955 to help organize major fund raising events as the Viennese Ball, Debutante program, and the Symphony of Trees each...

Abstract On January 1, 1961, citizens of Jefferson County, Texas gathered to devise a plan of action against what they percieved as "organized gambling, prostitution, graft, vice, and corrupt officials" running rampant in the county. Civic leaders, labor spokesmen, and members of churches and schools met with members of the House General Investigating Committee (the James Commission), forming The United Citizens for Law Enforcement (UCLE). The collection consists of organizational and administrative...

Abstract The Women's Auxiliary to the Jefferson County Medical Society formed in 1929 with Mrs. J.M. Gober as president. By 1953, the Auxiliary sought to extend the aims of the medical profession, to assist in entertainment at state, district, and county meetings, and promote acquaintances among physicians' families. Membership comprised the wives of medical doctors, but today the membership is inclusive of all spouses. Fifteen scrapbooks and one folder of ephemera comprise the material in this...